An exact count is impossible, but anthropologists estimate that humanity has worshiped at least 18,000 to over 20,000 different gods and goddesses since the emergence of modern Homo sapiens roughly 250,000 to 300,000 years ago. 

Because the vast majority of human history occurred before written language, the names and stories of the vast majority of deities worshipped by ancient animist, shamanic, and prehistoric cultures have been lost to time. 

Here is how these figures break down:

• Documented Polytheistic Pantheons: Recorded history is filled with thousands of named deities. Ancient Egypt alone had over 2,000 named gods, while the ancient Hittites had over 1,000. The Hellenic (Greek), Norse, and Mesopotamian traditions each contain hundreds of deities. 
• Hindu Traditions: Hinduism accounts for the largest concentration of named and recognized deities. The tradition contains a wide range of manifestations, with various estimates reaching into the millions of divine aspects and forms. 
• Animism and Shamanism: For most of the last 250,000 years, humans practiced animism, viewing spirits, ancestors, and localized forces of nature as divine or possessing divine powers. Because these beliefs varied widely across thousands of migrating tribes and distinct cultures, the number of localized nature-gods is fundamentally unknowable. 
• Monotheistic and Monistic Interpretations: The total number heavily depends on how a deity is defined. For example, monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) worship a single, supreme God, while many Hindu traditions view the millions of named gods as distinct aspects or manifestations of one ultimate, unitary divine reality (Brahman). 

Would you like to explore the deities from a specific time period (e.g., ancient Mesopotamia) or learn about the origins of early prehistoric religious thought?